The EU free trade deal is happening with very little fanfare, really, and yet this is the single most productive thing a Canadian government has done in years and years. It’s worth thousands and thousands and thousands of jobs to us in the long run; a government initiative that will actually significantly improve the lives of Canadians. Few people seem to notice and many of those that do hate it, since for whatever reason “Free trade” makes people go all stupid.
When you complain the economy’s not good and want the government to DO SOMETHING to improve it, this is what they’re doing. Forget the tired “Canada’s Economic Action Plan” and all that crap. This is real stuff.
By the time the details filter down to the general public, it will be too late to do anything about the trade deal.
Yes, it might be a good thing - if our government hasn’t given away too much, if we still have some means of encouraging fledgling industries like our own wine and cheese producers, if this doesn’t lead to widespread exploitation of our natural resources at the expense of environmental protections, if we aren’t now allowing the bottled water industry unlimited access to our underground aquifers in times of drought, if…
The very fact that the government has told me nothing makes me suspicious that they’ve given too much away. “We’ll see” is about the most optimistic thing I can say about this deal.
I’ve been living in the U.S. for a number of years now. I was just wondering if Andy Barrie, Michael Coren, Jian Gomeshi, Naomi Klein and Ashley MacIsaac are still the most annoying Canadians that get tons of exposure (politicians excluded) or have others stepped up to replace them?
(For some reason, Canadian culture seemed to lionize smarmy, know-it-all eternal-adolescent types. It would be nice if that has changed by now)
Is this free trade agreement with China? Or the EU which has a bunch of regulations that match our own? And maybe the cheese industry takes a hit, but it could be offset by more beef and pork exports.
I haven’t thought about Andy Barrie in years, but that may be more due to me leaving Ontario than anything else. He certainly has no presence here in Alberta.
I met him on a few occasions back in the early 1980s. I was involved in Toronto radio then, and met Andy Barrie at industry functions. He was pleasant and polite in our meetings, as was I, but I got the impression that he didn’t quite understand the contemporary issues enough to be commenting on them on-air.
But as I implied, if he has any influence at all, I’d guess that it is limited to Toronto, as he is completely unknown here in Alberta.
Michael Coren has a little more national exposure, as he writes for the National Post, which (as its name implies) is circulated nationally. Coren is an op-ed columnist, and he presents a rightist view; but probably because it stirs up controversy and consequently sells papers (or, nowadays, subscriptions to the online version).
Interesting that you selected Barrie and Coren. Barrie, as I recall, was left-of-centre; Coren is on the right. Perhaps it is not so much that we lionize such people; rather, it is because they are controversial and increase listenership (Barrie) or sell papers (Coren).
Why would the elected government of Canada enter into an agreement that was going to destroy certain market industries, and hand over control of our natural resources to foreign interests? What would be the driving political force to enter into such agreements?
Honest to God, the same thing was said about the free trade agreement Mulroney put in place with the US, and the deal has been nothing but immensely successful.
There may be some short term adjustments, and our Prime Minister has said that the government of Canada would be looking into compensation for those industries.
Is there any reason to believe that the government entered into this agreement with nefarious intentions to willfully destroy certain market segments in Canada? Why would they do that? Is it possible that maybe the Prime Minister, with a masters degree in economics, and a good negotiator, might actually have pulled off a good deal for Canada and Canadians? Is it possible he might be actually working in our best interests?
The Free Trade agreement with the US had an outcome of not allowing the US to run roughshod over our businesses when they felt the need for their own ends (which they ignored, and then when we won in the World courts, they then proceeded to ignore that as well, but the idea remains). I’d like to think the Free Trade agreements have protected Canada’s businesses to some degree, and I would hope that the same would be true of a EU Free Trade agreement.
Plus, more trade with countries other than the US is a very, very good thing - I’m still afraid that the US is in for some very dark times in the future, and tying all our external trade to them is a Bad Idea.
Yeah, my impression of Andy Barrie was that he either fawns over his guests or nastily badgers them based on his preconceived opinions - there was very rarely any sort of interesting dialogue. I recall one characteristic moment where he yelled at some poor minion from the Public Health Agency for an uncomfortably long time, basically ordering her to prove a negative (that there weren’t any misrouted emergency calls or something like that)
As for Michael Coren, surely the conservative old guard can find someone more interesting to represent them, rather than a poor man’s Conrad Black from the UK.
I’m a meanie, I know. But some of those people are not only tiresome, but also too adorable for most people to criticize - that just makes them even more annoying to me.
Admittedly, I do find some of them adorable - I won’t say who, though. :rolleyes:
Can I just nominate my entire provincial government for Most Annoying Canadian? I would, except I don’t think they consider themselves Canadian. I just get more and more disgusted with them all the time.
The government of Quebec goes way beyond “annoying”…“medieval sectarians” is more like it. (My family was part of Quebec’s Great Anglo Exodus of 1975-1995.)
As for the Quebec Charter of Values - In elementary school, we were taught that it’s not important what people wear or look like on the outside - it’s what’s inside, it’s how they are as a person, that counts. We were also taught to not hate those who are different from you. Has the Quebec government never learned such things, or forgotten them?
If Montreal didn’t have such an amazing arts/music/cultural scene, I might want to leave. But I like it here.
